Ghost Girl
by poxelda
Summary: While on Vacation, Mac is haunted. Is it his imagination, something from his past or something more sinister?
1. Chapter 1

"Now isn't this great?" Jack said grinning over to Macgyver. He was glad to see his younger partner grin back. It had taken some work, but he finally had managed to talk Mac into taking vacation time so the two of them could go fishing. He glanced at his watch. "We should be up to the lake in about twenty minutes then I am going to whoop your ass in catching the most fish!"

"You wish! I have a surefire secret my grandfather taught me. "

"Wanna make a bet?" Jack dared. Mac shrugged and looked out the window with a smug smile.

"If you insist on giving me more money—JACK! Look out!" Mac braced himself against the dash as he desperately pointed. Jack didn't answer but he had already seen the problem. In the oncoming lane a blue pick up was skidding into the lane infront of them. Jack managed to swerve without going off the shoulder. The car behind them wasn't so lucky. The truck slammed into them. The red car jumped the guard rail then flew end over end down a steep embankment past the breakdown lane. The truck bounced into his own lane then skidded away. Jack parked the car and he an Mac left it at a run. Down the embankment the car had settled on its roof tilted toward the front driver side bumper. The tall grasses beside the car were beginning to smoke. Mac glanced over at Jack who shared a worried frown and nodded back as they tore down the steep slope. It wouldn't be long before a fire would erupt.

Jack skidded to a stop and knelt by the driver side window. A small blond woman was hanging down her dazed face buried in the airbag. Blood ran down from the side of her temple. Jack glanced through the whole car. Mac was cutting a passenger from the other seat, a blonde teenage boy. No one else was in the car. At least there was that. He leaned against the door enough to free the frame. He managed to get it half way open. He leaned in as much as he could and pulled out the knife he always carried in his boot. He popped the airbag and cut the seatbelt.

Grunting and twisted in an awkward angle he managed to pull the woman out and carry her in her arms up the hill. Mac had already reached the top and was helping the teen to lay down. Jack heard the whoosh of flame behind him and could feel its heat, He didn't look back knowing the car would soon be engulfed. He layed the woman out beside the boy. Jack went to look up at Mac but Mac was running full tilt down the hill toward the burning car.

"Mac! MAC!" He received no answer. Jack was up and running. Mac normally runs faster than

Jack, but desperation sent Jack forward like an owl after a rabbit. He managed to get close enough to grab Mac's collar and yank back. Mac faltered in his step then fell on his ass. He glared at Jack then scrambled back up to run back to the car. Jack managed to get in front of him and put his shoulder into Mac's chest digging in.

"LET GO! We have to get her out! Let GO!" Mac put his foot behind Jack and swept the right. Jack was thrown off balance and fell to one knee. Mac pulled away and ran towards the car.

"MAC!" Jack screamed. Mac managed another five feet before there was a puffing sound and the car blew. Mac was thrown flat on his back. Jack managed to cover his head before landing hard on his side. He shook his head. Jack's ears were singing loud and he could feel blood pouring from his nose. He barely noticed. He got to Mac and without pausing grabbed him under his shoulders and dragged him up the hill. He had just reached the crest with the woman and teen when there was another louder explosion and the dry grass around the car was licked black by flames.

He gently laid Mac down and checked him over. He had a gash over his left eye and a split lip but looked otherwise ok. After a few seconds his eyes fluttered, they widened and he sat up getting ready to run again. Jack pushed him back with hands on shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Mac demanded rage in his voice. "We have to save her!"

"Save who? What are you talking about?" Jack eyed his partner checking for any signs of

Injury he may have missed.

"What do you mean who? The girl in the back seat!" Mac had made it up to his knees when he saw the growing spread of fire. He plopped back a stunned look on his face. He turned to Jack with fury. Jack could feel taught trembles running through his friend.

"Mac...MAC! There wasn't anyone else in the car." Mac made fists out of his hands and for a

Second Jack expected a solid right hook across his bloody nose. Mac moved his mouth as if trying to chew his rage into words. He pushed the grass and slumped back, his gaze changing to one of tragedy.

"You don't have to lie. I know I would have been hurt...but we should have saved her." Tears shone in Mac's eyes. His shoulders slumped. Jack was beginning to feel cold worry snake its way through his veins.

"Mac, what are you talking about? I'm not lying, there was no one else in the car, I checked. I promise-" Mac's fury returned, he shook his head, rolled to his feet and focused on the two accident victims.

"Call the cops." He said to Jack purposely looking away as he lifted the boy's hair away to check for head injury. Jack frowned and stood up pulling out his phone. He glanced down at the flaming car. He began to feel doubt niggle its way into his spine. Had he been wrong? Had he stopped Mac from saving a little girl? Jack shook the doubt away, he knew there hadn't been anyone there. What had Mac seen?

"911, what's your emergency..."

Jack leaned against the hood of their rental. It had some nicks from kicked up rocks but it could have been a lot worse. Jack looked down the incline at the now completely blackened skeleton of the car below. A whole lot worse. He glanced over at the ambulances. Mac was talking to the paramedics as they helped the woman into the back of one. The boy had been taken in one already. The woman reached out to touch Mac's shoulder. He stared at her, said something then was pushed aside by the paramedic He stood staring after them. Jack frowned and walked past the cop cars and milling police officers to stand by his partner. He didn't say anything, but glanced over out of the corner of his eye. Mac hadn't said a word to him yet. Mac looked down then turned to face Jack, ducking his head. Taking a deep breath he looked up at Jack.

"I'm sorry, man. I don't know what just happened." Mac shook his head and turned to walk

Back to their rental. Jack stopped him by grabbing his forearm. Mac looked down unwilling to meet the other's concerned gaze.

"Mac?" Jack asked softly. Mac let out a deep breath and pulled away he began to pace in a small cirlcle his hands emphasizing his frustration

"I saw her, Jack. As clear as I'm seeing you now! I didn't imagine her. I..." Mac shook his head and dropped his hands. He looked up at Jack frustration and confusion dancing across his face. He huffed and started back to the car. Jack matched his stride and walked beside his friend.

"What did you see?" He asked softly.

"A girl, maybe five or six. Dark hair a pink hoodie, glasses. She was pressed against the glass beating on it and yelling."

"I didn't hear anything." Jack said. Mac pulled along side the car and leaned against the hood. He crossed his arms and stared off into space. Jack could almost hear the whir of his brain as it snapped forward after the problem.

"Me neither." Mac said looking at his feet as he kicked at stones at his feet. "I asked Maggie-"

"Maggie?"

"The driver, she was taking her son to soccer camp. She said there had never been anyone

else in the car. She didn't know anyone who matched the girl's description." Mac let out a deep sigh and shook his head looking at Jack. "I swear I saw her, Jack. I'm not making this up-"

Jack held up his hand and leaned beside Mac.

" _I never thought you did..."Jack paused and smiled putting on his yellow-lensed shades and crossed to the driver's door. "Maybe it was a ghost?" Mac rolled his eyes._

"A ghost? Really?" Mac asked opening his door. Jack shrugged.

"You have a better explanation?" Jack didn't wait for an answer as he slid into the car. Mac looked over the sight of the accident. He felt a chill run through him. He still could see the girl screaming in despiration, her eyes seemed to peer deep inside him begging to be saved. Mac put on his own shades.

"No, not yet." He muttered sliding into the passenger's seat. He closed the door and looked out the window watching the scene grow smaller in the side mirror. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes trying to let it go, but as he looked back into the mirror again, he knew he couldn't. Who was the girl? Was she real? A figment of his imagination? He felt the gaze of his partner. He shook his head. It was not a ghost. There was no such thing, was there?


	2. Chapter 2

Now

Jack inhaled the pine air and closed his eyes. The slow moving river beside him and the soft wind blowing the green canopy above made a soothing background allowing for complete unwinding. He knelt and pulled out a fat salmon. He cut into its belly and quickly had it filleted and deboned. He chuckled to himself as he reached for another one.

Despite having an entire toolbox of specialized lures, some of which were obscenely expensive, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the fish they would lure, Mac had won the fishing contest easily. Jack was still irritated that he had been bested by Mac's grandpa's secret weapon-a gum wrapper. Jack pulled one of his fish out of the bucket. Next to the fat long ones Mac had reeled in they looked a bit pathetic. They were short and skinny. When Mac had teased him, Jack had rebutted that they were young and therefore more tender. Jack shook his head cutting the salmon's head off.

Instead of money, Mac had decided the loser should clean the fish for dinner. At that point, Jack knew he was beaten. Mac hated cleaning the fish. He much preferred to set up camp. Jack groused the whole time, but he really didn't mind. Watching Mac's face light up with delight as he brought in each fish was worth it. MacGyver rarely had the opportunity to lay aside the heavy burdens he carried like he had today. Jack reached for the last fish. He glanced up and watched a pair of eagles lazily circle against the deep red and orange sunset. He sat back on his heels and watched them a long minute. He felt his spirit lift on their wings and ride the thermals with them. They came closer and let out with their defiant cries.

"I hear you, I'll leave you a nice snack." He said companionably as he quickly carved into the final fish. He went to the water rinsed off the knife, his hands and the bucket. He put the thick fish steaks he had cut into the bucket and sealed it securely. He then went across the rocky bank to the edge of the forest. He knelt behind a thick knot of tall grass and pulled out his camera. He clicked pictures as the majestic birds landed and squabbled over the fish bits left on the bank of the river. Watching them, Jack lost track of time.

Finally they gave a final squawk and took to the air. Jack stood watching them sway across the darkening sky until he couldn't see them any more. He turned to the forest and stopped surprised at the solid wall shadows had become behind straight bars of grey oak bark and claws of pine. He glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. He had been gone over an hour! He turned and easily navigated a narrow path back to camp as part of the forest as a deer.

He reached the edge of the forest and was only slightly out of breath. He was going to hello the camp when he froze. Something was wrong. Jack realized the forest around him was silent as a grave. He pulled the boning knife and looked around him carefully studying every dark shadow and whisper of movement. He felt the hairs on the nape of his neck stand like a lightening strike was coming. He couldn't see Mac anywhere in the camp. Jack crept forward and squatted studying the camp before him. Their tents were set up perfectly, of course, on the other side of a friendly camp fire crackling within a ring of stones. A small stack of wood beside the fire told Jack that Mac wasn't out gathering wood. Off to his left Jack saw sealed containers of food hanging from a branch about ten feet in the air. Not a predator after food then.

Deciding there was no immediate threat he entered the soft yellow glow around the fire. Looking out at the circle of woods around the small camp, Jack swore the dark shadows danced and beckoned him to join them into blackness. It was creepy. Jack shook away his dark imagination. He had a more immediate problem.

"Mac? Mac? Mac!" He yelled. He paused listening with all he had within him. Hoping for Mac's irritated call back that he was taking care of nature's demands. The trees hissed as they swayed in an unseen, unheard wind. Jack's heart began to thump. It was almost full dark. It would be easy to get lost in the dark, Mac was just as a much of an expert woodsman as Jack. This fact alone slowed the mountain of panic blooming in his chest.

"MAC! MAC! MAC!" Jack froze hearing a scream in the distance off to his right. He lept into his tent, grabbed his pack. He shouldered it tilting his head trying to pinpoint the direction of the scream. Another one sounded, fainter. This one was sliced quiet in the middle. Jack snarled and pulled his gun racking a round in the chamber as he charged into the dark foliage "Hang on partner! I'm coming!" He yelled popping on his flashlight as he ducked and wove through branches and over roots and brush. He hissed as a pine bough whipped him across the face, but barely felt the sting of the opened cut. Jack sacrificed stealth for speed. He would pause in his crashing path to listen, see if there was any more sounds. Blood thumped loud in his ears. There was only eerie silence.

Earlier

Mac hummed as he set up the tents. His stomach roared like a puma. He glanced at his watch and shook his head. Jack should be back anytime. Mac tossed his hammer beside the last spike and bent to attach the final rope. He wiped his forehead looking at his work. It wasn't as perfect as he liked but he was really too tired to worry about it. He bent to add a few thicker branches into the fire. They were bare and older so burned clean. The fire had a welcoming glow. Mac sat down and poked a stick into the fire. He watched the end smoke, blacken then burst into a bright cinder. It hypnotised him He sighed and stabbed the stick deep into the heart of the fire. He laid his head on his knees staring into the flames. He thought of the accident earlier in the day. Jack had assumed he had written it off as a fluke of his imagination. It may be, Mac thought to himself, he did have a fierce imagination that took no prisoners, but he felt it was different. He closed his eyes and ran it over in his mind again.

The car jumping the guard rail. The flip that seemed in slo-mo, then deathly grinding. In the back seat as solid as the ground he sat on, the girl. Dark hair, terrified dark eyes. Pink hoodie, hood flying as the car slammed roof first onto the ground. The girl screaming his name, pounding on the window before being snatched by centripetal force and pulled out of sight, down the hill. Mac sat up and looked around him. The girl had screamed his name? He frowned. Had that really happened? He closed his eyes, he could hear the soft pitched child's voice.

"Mac?" Angus sat up startled. Across from him almost invisible in the darkness a face watched him. He couldn't make out the full form but he saw a flash of pink when the flames of the fire flared brighter. "Mac? Help me! MAC!" The girl screamed as a shadow seemed to reach around her middle and pulled her deep into the forest.

"No!" He yelled moving before he realized it. He dove into the black forest. He heard her cries ahead of him. He tripped but bounced back to his feet. He shoved branches aside and pushed through bramble and brush. In the back of his mind, Mac knew the smart thing to do would be to wait for Jack then search for the girl but he felt her desperation mix with own. He had to save her. He had to. Again he flopped to the ground. He let out a bellow of pain as something stabbed into his side hard knocking the wind out of him. Mac closed his eyes and took a few shaky breaths before resolutely pushing himself up and forward the way he thought the girl had been taken. He curled in over his side as he ran. He didn't think anything was broken, but it hurt like hell. He paused listening. The forest was silent, mocking him. Mac threw up his hands in frustration. He was about to turn back the way he came when he saw a flash of pink ahead of him to the left. Angus dove in that direction. He managed three steps before the ground vanished beneath him. He screamed in pain as he fell against trees and rocks on the way down, then he hit. His scream was stolen with his breath. He saw tendrils of ghostly fog coil around him. His arms pimpled in the damp cold. He fought for breath. Angus looked up. He swore he saw a little girl looking down at him and smile. Her eyes and the smile were as cold as night. Mac closed his eyes and floated away with the fog.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack's breath fogged in the cool air. He stopped running and beamed the flashlight through the darkness. The dim light glowed only a few feet before being reflected back by growing low fog. Jack cussed to himself and reluctantly turned back the way he came. Following the large broken trail he'd made he quickly returned to camp hating himself more with each step. He thought of Mac out there lost, alone, cold. Jack felt his lungs cramp with panic until he had to remind himself to breathe. He glanced around the camp hoping to see Mac. Nothing. The friendly fire had been smothered by grey swirling tendrils. The crescent moon stared down, angry lashes of a glaring eye. Jack kicked a rock and yelled wishing he had something to punch.

Taking a deep breath he forced the panic deep down to his gut and mechanically went about the business of rebuilding the camp fire. The fire was no longer friendly. Staring into its twisted dancing, every time he thought he'd lost Mac, every time the kid got hurt on his watch played over and over. The fog seemed to build a wall around him as solid as any cement cell he'd been tortured in. He threw a stick in the fire angrily. His helplessness and panic writhed in his belly like a snake coated in acid. He glared at his watch. Only an hour until false dawn, then another before full dawn. Jack kicked himself as he curled in closer to the fire. Damp cold chewed up and down his back. He shouldn't be warm. Mac wasn't warm. Was Mac alive? Jack stood in frustration and went to open his pack. He pulled out his sat phone.

"Jack, this better be good." The angry Mattie said as she answered immediately. Jack forced himself to remain calm.

"I can't find Mac." His voice broke in the middle. Jack cleared his throat to hide it. Mattie wasn't fooled.

"Talk to me." She said crisply. Jack could hear movement in the background. He knew she was getting dressed heading to the Foundation. Jack may have a lot of issues with Mattie, but at this moment in time her calm clarity was a lifeline. Jack explained what had happened with flat professionalism. He paused his eyes darting around the fog that seemed to whisper mocking threats at him, while his beating heart eagerly sang along- _Failure, No Time, Failure, No Time…_

"You did the right thing, Jack. Running around in the woods and getting yourself hurt or lost would not have helped MacGyver." Mattie said. Jack's conscience added in its own bruising commentary- _Mac is alone out there somewhere, in the fog, lost, abandoned by everyone in his life and now you, Mac is hurting and it's all your fault…_

"...hear me Jack?" Jack shook his head fighting to focus on Mattie. "It isn't your fault, Jack." Mattie's voice was softer. Jack smiled. Mattie the Hun getting sentimental?

"We have to find him fast, Mattie. He's out there alone, he could be hurt…"

"Dalton! Get it together!" Mattie snapped. Jack straightened up automatically, a soldier before a drill sergeant. "I'm at Phoenix now, we'll try to get a satellite of your position. Air and rescue as well as the national rangers will rendezvous at dawn…" Jack sighed with relief, but knew that it would be him that brought his partner back, it had to be him. "...And Jack? Bring our boy home."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Jack yawned and shook his head to clear it as he studied the path before him. The last two hours had moved with the march of a snail. He bent over a broken pine branch and frowned. It was tinged with blood. The trail had not been hard to find. Like Jack the night before, Mac had gone into the woods without regard to any kind of stealth. Jack felt better about returning to camp. He had actually been going in the opposite direction from Mac. He would never have found him if he kept going the way he had been. His fears however still lurked just behind his focus on the problem at hand. He fought them with years of practice and training.

The fog was slowly vanishing under the soft yellow rays of the sun as it peeped shyly through the tree leaves. The fog seemed to roll backwards like a hungry animal driven back to its den. Behind it, webs in the trees and spread sporadically on the ground shined like small piles of diamonds shining against thick green beds of moss. Ferns uncurled reaching up for light fluttering as a soft wind swept the final wisps of fog away. Jack paused bending down. He saw the print of Mac's boot. He had stopped here. The way forward was pristine Mac had changed direction to the east. Jack frowned. What had drawn Mac into the woods? He hadn't been chased, he had been chasing something. Jack ducked under a thick rotting trunk. The birds had awakened at first dawn. Now in full light they squawked and flitted above him. Jack inhaled the smell of woody must and peat. The forest was once again familiar, comforting. Jack was about to take another step when his sat phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"Anything?" Riley's voice was sleepy but held an edge of worry.

"Not yet, the rangers are going grid by…" Jack trailed off as he noticed the land in front of him. It stopped. He crept closer and peered over an abrupt drop.

"Jack? Jack?" Jack gasped. Far below him sprawled at the bottom of the bluff was his partner. His left leg was bent at an unnatural angle and he wasn't moving,

"Oh, God." Jack moaned.

"JACK!" Riley screamed. Jack blinked realizing he'd said that out loud.

"Riley, I found him. Get everyone here, NOW!" He ignored her questions, dropping the phone but leaving it on to help pinpoint his location. He pulled a long red nylon rope from his pack and quickly tied it to a sturdy maple. With a backward glance he jumped off the edge and rappelled his way down the uneven embankment. The rope was twenty feet too short. Jack cussed and unhooked himself. He grunted reaching out to a tree root. Dirt and stones tumbled as he slowly made his way to the forest floor. He glanced up. If the red nylon hadn't hung there he would have no idea where the edge of the small cliff was. He jumped the last five feet and fell to his knees. He felt a twinge in an ankle but ignored it as he skipped to his partner's side.

"Mac?" He asked softly. Mac's face was covered by a thin sheen of blood that still oozed from the wound on his forehead. What had been a small gash was now a long crevice running deep into his hairline. Mac's breathing was raspy and irregular. His pulse was sluggish. Jack shrugged out of his pack. Mac's skin was cool to the touch. Jack pulled out one of the thin reflective emergency blankets in the med kit and wrapped Mac in it as gently as he could. Mac groaned softly. Jack grinned.

"About time, Buddy. You're kinda freaking me out and it would be really, really good for your ol' buddy Jack if you'd open those baby blues for me…." Jack's encouragement trailed off as he got a closer look at Mac's leg. "Oh man, buddy, this is not good." Mac's leg was broken at the calf that looked to be bent back almost toe to knee. The bone jutted through the bloody remains of his torn pants. The leaves beneath it were soggy with blood.

"Dalton?" A voice bellowed down at him. Jack grinned.

"Down here! Watch that first step, it's a hell of a doozy!" He yelled up. A second later two white helmeted heads peered down at him. He yelled up everything. They turned to yell at people behind them. Jack tuned them out and reached down to take Mac's hand. It was cold and limp as clay. "See there, Mac, for once the cavalry is on time. Just hang on, we'll get this sorted then I'll whoop your ass in a fishing rematch…" He trailed off as the hand in his suddenly squeezed hard enough to crush Jack's hand. Jack barely noticed. "Mac?" Mac's eyes flew open and he cried out arching his back in pain. His breathing sped up as his eyes darted around him in panic. "Hey, hey, easy partner...easy, you're ok…" Mac slowly focused on Jack's face. His teeth chattered together he clutched Jack's hand harder. His mouth moved like one of the salmon he'd reeled in. Jack realized he was trying to say something. Jack leaned in.

"Where is she? We have to save her….have to...Abby!" Mac gasped in a broken whisper. Jack leaned back puzzled. What?

"Who Mac? Who needs saving? Who's Abby?" Mac's eyes fluttered shut. Jack shook him gently. "Mac? Mac?" Mac's body went limp. Jack looked up as booted feet stomped toward them. He held onto the cool hand. "That's ok, buddy, it's gonna be ok. It's ok." He repeated it over and over as rangers and rescue workers scurried around them. Jack wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure MacGyver or himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you all so much for your reviews! This is it the final reveal! Thanks so much for reading. I hope you had as much fun as I did writing it.

Mac woke to screaming, screaming and agony. He rasped in air clutching a hand in his like a lifeline.

"Easy, easy, you're ok. They had to set your leg for transport." Mac shivered with hold while feeling damp from fever. Everything was a blurry kaleidoscope around him. He began to heave.

"Turn him, gently…"Mac felt himself tilted onto his left side. He moaned as his stomach tried to push its way out his throat. Tears leaked from his eyes. He tried to suck in a breath, but the pain of being on his side felt like a steel belt wrapping around his lungs. Mac closed his eyes as he was gently laid down. He opened them, forcing himself to adjust to his surroundings. Above him faces blurred in and out of his vision in front of a distant lace of tree tops. One face continued to hover in place over him. Mac smiled weakly.

"Jk…" He mouthed, being too weak to put voice behind his whisper. Jack grinned back, even as the crinkles around his eyes highlighted his concern.

"Hey bud, you picked a bitch of a time to come awake." Mac was about to ask why when there was another snap and the inferno of agony made him scream. Little more than a sharp gasp came out. Everything swam before him, he rasped in breath. A familiar hand on his shoulder was the only reassurance that this would end, that things would be better soon… He heard words, but they blew away into the hurricane winds of his heartbeat. He felt a mask going over his face and took in the clean wind pressing against his mouth and nose. He felt hands moving around him and realized that he was being strapped onto something harder than the cold ground. His body tightened in panic. The comforting hand squeezed tighter. Mac forced himself to calm down. His head was adjusted into a thick stiff collar. MacGyver's eyes flew open in panic. Jack still floated above him. His mouth was moving, some of the words made it through Mac's wall of agony.

"...fell of a fricking cliff...taking you by air rescue…"

"No...cliff…." Mac said. Jack leaned closer and shook his head.

"Yeah there are cliffs out here, bud. At least one and you fell over it." Mac managed a tiny smile then closed his eyes everything drifting into a haze. He was aware of another heartbeat above him. He saw a helicopter hovering over the treetops. The winds fanned over him and shook the treetops. The blurred movement around him increased. He felt his hands being tucked under straps across his chest. The hand on his shoulder went away, Mac opened his eyes trying to turn his head to find Jack. Jack leaned forward. He appeared to be shouting, but Mac could barely hear him.

"You're in good hands partner. I can't go with you...not enough room...meet you at the hospital." Mac tried to reach out to him. He felt a warm hand give him a gentle squeeze.

"Promise?" Although Mac knew his voice was too weak to reach his friend, Jack knew what he asked. Another squeeze of his hand answered him. Mac closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. He felt himself lifted. He wished he could look around or turn his head to see the panorama he knew floated beneath him. Mac looked up at the helicopter growing in size as he was winched closer to it. He mentally did some calculations about how high he was and decided he didn't need to see below him after all. Hands reached out and swung him inside.

Mac began to shiver, his teeth chattering. He slowly realized he had been cold all along, but coming into a warm chopper oddly made him feel colder. He felt a blanket wrapped around him. He smiled. It had been heated in warmer.

"I know, feels good doesn't it?" A pretty voice said at his head. He opened his eyes. When had he closed them? The voice matched the pixie featured nurse that smiled down at him as she took vitals and spoke to others moving around Mac. Mac tried to give her his megawatt smile, as Riley called it, but someone chose that instant to move his leg. He gasped and arched his back trying to move away from the pain. His breathing went faster, he was trapped He couldn't move! Alarms began to beep around him. He couldn't get air. Mac panted with pain. He desperately looked around him. The mask was taken away from his face and another put in its place, this one tighter and windier. He was dimly aware of the nurse talking to someone Mac couldn't see. He felt a coldness on his heaving chest. He glanced down and saw a blonde man listening to a stethoscope he moved around Mac's chest. Mac began to shiver again. The blankets had been removed for the man's assessment. They were replaced, but Mac hardly noticed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the nurse grabbing an injector out of a small bin attached to the wall. She efficiently prepped it and lifted a tube Mac realized was attached to an IV in his upper left arm.

"No!" He tried to yell for Jack but the mask seemed to gag him. He began to cough weakly. He tried to kick but this just brought out more agony. He saw the nurse inject the medicine in his arm and she smiled down at him. It was a warm, encouraging smile. Her eyes were brown and soft, kind. Mac felt his eyes began to flitter. She reached down and gently stroked hair out of his eyes. She was talking to him, but Mac was too tired to make out the words. The soothing tone of her voice eased him off to endless black comfort.

Mac sighed and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked in surprise moving to sit up. Warm hands stopped him, not straps. Mac followed the hands and relaxed back smiling.

"Hey." He rasped. Jack grinned and moved to a chair beside his bed. Hospital room, his brain told him. He knew the scratchy feel of the sheets and peculiar burnt medicine smell immediately. He frowned taking in the contraption at the end of the bed. His leg was in a boot with steel screws that looked like they went through his flesh. His foot was held in the air by ropes attached to a complicated frame that had weights hanging just above the bed. Mac followed the ropes and pulley system. He could feel it pulling at his leg, but it didn't hurt as much as he expected.

"Yeah, you managed to break your leg into a gazillion pieces. They had to do surgery and bolt it back together. They said you'll be in traction for the next week." Mac looked at his bare toes and was able to slowly, and painfully move them. He sat back with a sigh. He glanced over at Jack. Jack watched him with a happy look on his face. Mac reached over to the railing beside him and slowly raised the head of his bed up. He looked thoughtfully at the pulley system, his brain moving the parts around. If he moved the weight over...

"Forget it, bud." Jack said. Mac looked over at him innocently. Jack shook his head laughing. Mac smiled back at him, Jack knew him too well. Mac frowned and looked away from Jack. His eyes became distant. Jack put a hand on Mac's arm. "Hey, what's wrong?" Mac looked back at him seriously.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

"What? What for?"

"I ruined your vaca…"

"No, stop already." Jack said leaning forward. His face was serious with sincerity. "I'm just glad you're ok. Besides you'd do anything to avoid getting your but whooped in our fishing rematch." Mac smiled at his partner's attempt to lighten the mood, but Mac didn't lose his seriousness. Jack scooted the chair closer. "Mac?" He waited until Mac met his eyes. "Why were you running around the woods at night?" Mac sat back and closed his eyes. Jack's gaze was as heavy as the weight attached to his foot. Mac considered lying, or pretending to fall asleep...he let out a deep breath. They had promised to never lie to each other. He turned to Jack.

"I saw her.." He paused his mind replaying the flash of pink, the shadows pulling the girl into the woods. Mac suddenly sat up and began to work on the bolt holding his boot up into the cat's cradle above his bed. "I have to get out of here." He said desperately pulling at the rope as he loosened. Quicker than a surprised Jack could follow his partner had gone from drowsy and resting to excited, almost panicking.

"Whoa, what do you think you're doing?" Jack jumped to his feet as Mac pulled the boot free and winced as the heavy contraption fell into the bottom of the bed. Mac pushed off the bed and began to swing his legs off the bed. Jack ran around the bed to stop Mac from standing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack roared. Mac winced at the flames of anger in each word. He scooted forward and brushed Jack's arms away, or he tried to. Jack dug his fingers into Mac's shoulders. He shook them gently making Mac lookup. His face had taken on a pale sallow shade, and Jack could feel tremors run through Mac's arms. Mac's eyes closed and he breathed in and out. Jack knew he was hurting, but he also knew something was gnawing at his friend. Mac looked up at him, pleading in his eyes.

"Jack...please…"

"What? Let you get up and fall on the floor? The hard, cold floor? Or let you stand on that foot of yours literally held together by screws? What do you want...what do you need that is that important? Tell me and I'm with you 1000% brother."

"There's no such thing as 1000%" Mac said with a slight smile. Jack remained unmoved.

"I stand by the spirit of my words, and don't try to distract me. This has got to stop…"

"Then let me stop it, let me save her!" Mac realized he was yelling. He forced himself to take a deep breath. He met Jack's gaze with steady determination in his own. "Let me go, Jack."

"Who are you trying to save? Who is this girl? This Abby…" Jack said. Mac frowned.

"Abby?"

"That's what you said when I found you. Who is she, Mac?" Jack's voice grew gentle. Mac looked down at his hands which had clenched into fists. He forced them to relax. Jack pretended not to notice, keeping his focus on Mac's face. Mac's shoulders slumped and he felt himself sway with fatigue. Jack was now holding him up more than holding him down.

"I...I don't know...I know I have to...have to…" Mac's eyes closed and he went limp with exhaustion. Jack caught him and stooped wrapping him into a hug for a long minute before catching him under the knees and lifting him fully back to bed. He covered his friend and pushed hair back from his ghost white face.

"Enough of this." Jack declared. He strode out of the room to the nurse's station. He explained what happened and the nurse paged the doctor. Jack pulled out his own phone speaking fast. He then stopped to get a cup of coffee and returned to Mac's room to wait.

"How did he describe her?" Mattie asked on the other end of the conference call. It had taken awhile to get a laptop to hook up to skype, especially with Riley trying to explain over the phone what dangly thing had to connect to what doodad. Jack hated computers. He wished he was facing a hundred trained mercs instead, that he knew how to handle.

"He said she was about four or five, had dark hair and glasses, and wore a pink hoodie." Riley nodded as she bent over her laptop at Phoenix. She shook her head.

"Not much to work with."

"Bozer, does Abby mean anything to you?" Jacked asked.

"No, there wasn't any Abby in school with us and nobody I know is named Abby. Do you think it's like a ghost, a ghost ghost?" Jack ran his hand through his short hair. He shrugged.

"At this point, I don't know what to believe."

"Well, I can't find any mention of any kind of Abby living within a hundred miles of where you were camping. No missing children in the area and too many nationally."

"It is a vague description." Mattie said touching her chin with her finger. "Do you think it could be caused by Mac's exposure? He could have hit his head…"

"No, the doctors checked that all out. He has a mashed up foot and pretty good collection of new bruises but no concussion. I even had the docs check to see if he could have been slipped a drug somewhere, but nothing." They all stared at each other a long second.

"Alright, let's go through this again." Mattie said, "You said everything started at the car crash…"

 _"Angus! You cheated!" Mac smiled at Abby but didn't go to move his pieces back to the beginning. He quietly showed Abby the rules on the lid of the game box proving he didn't cheat...not exactly. Abby stood up sniffing. Angus jumped to his feet confused._

 _"It's only a game, Abby. You're right, you won…" He blurted out quickly trying to get her to stop crying. She looked at him anger and sadness crossing her face like a thunderstorm._

 _"You aren't my friend anymore, I hate you!" She yelled, kicking him in the knee turning and running across Mac's back yard toward the street._

 _"Abby! Abby!" Angus yelled following. He felt tears run down his own face. Abby was his best friend and the idea that he caused her pain made him feel like he was being squeezed to death. Abby looked back at him at the road. "No, Abby, we aren't allowed to cross…" Mac screamed feeling a dread thump through his entire body. Abby turned to walk across the street when a black car slid to a stop in front of her, strong hands reached out grabbed her around her waist and dragged her into to car. She reached out to him with both arms, her glasses falling off._

 _"Angus! Angus, help me! HELP!" She screamed. He could hear her yelling muffled through the closed glass. Her face pressed against the glass as she hit against it begging her to help him. He had to run, to get his parents, he had to...He stood frozen unable to move, watching the car disappear. It didn't squeal and speed away but slowly drove, casually as if it had a right to be there. He knew he could reach it, he could save her. He saw a flash of the pink hoodie as she banged at the rear window, her mouth moving as she screamed his name. He could run after, he could...He stood frozen unable to move, watching the car vanish around the curve… He tried to scream for help, but couldn't breathe…_

Mac woke up gasping. He took deep breaths and looked around his surroundings. He was in the same hospital room with his leg dangling in traction. Mac realized he was alone. He could hear Jack's voice coming from the hallway. His breath evened out. How could he have forgotten Abby? He had turned four the summer before, she had turned five. That fall she should have gone to kindergarten. Mac felt tears well and fall. They found her body discarded like trash in the river that ran through Mission City only two days later. Mac never told anyone. He hated himself for it and tried, tried a thousand times but the words would dry up choked by a terror he was so much smaller than. Mac wiped his eyes angrily and leaned back to stare at the ceiling.

"Oh Abby, I'm so, so sorry." He whispered. _I hate you, you aren't my friend!_ He closed his eyes feeling waves of self hatred and anger wash through him. Around that time his mom had been diagnosed and that seemed to wipe out anything before it-happy or tragic. "No excuse." He muttered to himself.

"Hey bud, talking to yourself?" Jack said from the door. He flipped the overhead light on, Mac winced and covered his eyes with his forearm. He heard Jack come over to his bedside. Jack plopped down with a tired sigh. Mac blinked getting used to the light. Jack looked tired, worried. Mac frowned realizing that yet again he was the cause of Jack's worry. He was going to apologize again and stopped himself. Words. That's all they were- words. He growled and punched the bedrail. All he ever does is hurt those he loves. Mac sat up and began to hit out at anything he could reach as hard as he could. His leg blossomed into agony, it fed him, he deserved it! Jack blinked and bounced to his feet. He leaned in dodging fists. One grazed his forehead and almost staggered him. He managed to work in close and get his body between Mac's fists and his leg. He grunted as Mac pounded on his back. Jack wrapped his arms around Mac who tried to squirm away, but Jack sat on the edge of the bed and held on. Mac tried to push him away, his breath growing ragged with exertion.

"Leave me alone!" Mac said pushing harder at Jack's shoulders. Jack held on, feeling Mac grow weaker. Not that Mac noticed, he kept fighting as hard as he could until he was too tired to lift his arms. Mac flopped back. Jack grabbed him and held him against his chest. He could feel the tension in his friend ease. Mac sniffed. "Alright, Jack. I'm fine. Please let go." MacGyver's voice was soft and sad but steady. Jack reluctantly let his younger partner go. Mac laid back and stared up at the ceiling forcing his breathing to slow. Jack sat back waiting until it was normal. He took in the red rimmed eyes and damp cheeks.

"Now, will you tell me what the hell that was?" Jack asked forcing his voice to remain normal toned even though his own heart beat faster with worry. Mac glanced at him and to Jack's surprise managed a weak smile.

"You've never seen a freak out before?" Although Jack suspected he was going for amused, the kid's tone wasn't anything but hostile and bitter. Jack frowned.

"Yeah. I've been known to have one or two myself, but I have never seen you have a freak out. That is kind of freaking me out." Mac rubbed his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Jack." He met Jack's gaze. "Seriously, for everything." His gaze floated back up to the ceiling. Jack hesitated unsure what was going on in the kid's head.

"You lost me kid, what everything?" Mac didn't answer. Jack waited but it became clear that Mac wasn't going to say anything else. Jack decided to stir the pot. "Well, I talked to the others." Mac shot Jack an angry glare but still remained silent. Jack pressed on, "we were looking for this Abby who's been haunting you…" Mac laughed. Jack stared at him not liking the bitterness in the laugh.

"Haunting? Yeah, you could say that." He looked at Jack a long minute. "I was wrong, Jack, ghosts are real." Jack wanted to pinch himself, was he dreaming. Mac smiled and went to move the head of the bed higher. He stared at his bloody knuckles as if they were someone else's. He leaned back.

"Mac? What's going on? We couldn't find any Abby that fit the description of the girl you saw…"

"That's because she's gone...she was taken away…" Mac closed his eyes and sighed. "Taken away and I didn't do anything." He looked at Jack tears filling his eyes. "I didn't do anything. I could have saved her, I should have...should have…" Mac leaned back and closed his eyes, the tears escaping through his eyelashes. Jack didn't know what was going on, but he knew enough to be quiet and offer what support he could. He held Mac's hand, and Mac squeezed back as if it would be taken away any second. Jack scooted closer and leaned forward settling in for the long haul.

Mac awkwardly navigated the path between the uneven grass and gravestones. He felt sweat bead and run down his back as he pulled himself ahead on crutches. The docs had given him a boot that was easier to work with after his second operation, but it was still bulky and cumbersome. Mac hardly noticed its weight, the emotional one that pulled him forward infinitely heavier. He finally pulled up to Abby's grave. The stone was made of pink marble shaped into a heart with bows and ribbons unfurling around its shiny surface. The name was carved, but the chisel marks, by hand. Mac reached out and managed to touch the stone. Instead of cold and lifeless it was warm and glowed with reflected sunlight. He smiled thinking that was somehow perfect. He slowly bent and plopped onto his but. He put his crutches on the ground beside him. On her grave a drooping browned bouquet of unrecognizable flowers laid across a small ledge her headstone rested on. Mac gently pushed them aside and took a new bouquet out of his Mission City paperboy's bag wrapped across his shoulder. They weren't professionally bundled. He smiled.

"I stole these from Mrs. LIvingston's garden." He said softly as he laid down the flowers. He looked up at the bright blue sky watching white puffy clouds skip across in the wind. If he didn't hate cemeteries so much, it would have been serene.

"Well, I…" Mac's voice froze just like it did so many years ago. He thought of all that happened in his life good and bad. What could he say? Jack always talked to his dad's stone as easily as if his dad was really there. Mac couldn't. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat. He knew this was more for him, than Abby. He forced himself to speak through the guilt.

"They got them, Abby. I finally told and the two guys who...who killed you, they are in jail. They won't harm anyone ever again...I'm...I'm so, so sorry, Abby. I should have…" Mac looked down and pulled savagely at the grass. He angrily reached for his crutches. This is stupid. What did he expect? Something to make him feel better? He made it halfway to his feet before he lost his balance and fell back. He gritted his teeth and glared up at the sky. He heard a soft giggle. He lifted his head in surprise. No one else had been in the cemetery. He slowly sat up. He didn't see anyone. He shook his head and tried to reach his right crutch. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and swore he saw a slight flash of pink dart between the far away grave stones. He blinked as a shadow fell over him. Jack looked down at him with a concerned look.

"You ok, partner?" Mac glanced over to the place he'd seen the movement, nothing. His brain easily scrolled through a hundred possibilities of reasonable, logical explanations. He felt lighter, like he'd been kissed with a warm forgiveness. He decided the explanations didn't matter. He looked up at Jack.

"Yeah, I think I am. Although I could use some help up." Jack met his grin with one of his own as he bent to give Mac his crutches and help him to his feet.


End file.
